Otaku Bantu April 2014 by otakubantu

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Special thanks to the Otaku Bantu staff both online and those who contributed directly to the production of the magazine. Many thanks to the team of people that made this possible from across each border. My deepest appreciation goes to the media team that did their best to market and advertise the magazine through all social media and various other outlets. This includes the twitter team @ otakubantumag and the dedicated admin of the Facebook page.

feel like you’ve missed out?

Thanks to the various artists, designers and photographers - without whom this would just be blocks of unrelated pieces of writing.

In less formal matters, I’d like to say thank you to everyone that contributed towards this magazine in every way big or small. Even the seemingly small suggestions have made the biggest of overall impacts. And if you have any questions, comments, queries, requests or just want to say hi, drop us an e-mail at otakubantu@live.com or leave an inbox message on the Facebook page. Hello and welcome to the reboot issue of the Otaku Bantu Magazine. This is the magazine’s 5th release continuing on from the four monthly issues that were released at the beginning of last year.

Lastly a great deal of thanks to the fans and you the readers for being the reason and driving force for this project. We aspire to create an even better quality magazine for our readers in the months and years to come.

Happy reading. -Editor

Ultimately, the initiative of this magazine is; to provide compact and concise news, reviews and interviews, packed with other fun otaku junk in between. But essentially, the purpose is to create an interesting and entertaining magazine, that will inspire and move people think of the content in a deeper sense than they did before.

Happy reading and don’t forget to spread the love by liking us on Facebook, following us on twitter and just letting your fellow otaku know we are here!

The magazine is primarily based in South Africa, however, our readership extends beyond these borders reaching as far as Zambia. This forms part of the Pan-African anime committee which is spearheaded by various organisations most notably the collection of anime societies across South Africa, the ever-active and entertaining Zimbabwe Anime Union as well as the Otaku Movie Nights on the Zambian scene.

for

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issues!

For those of you who are new to the whole thing, Otaku Bantu has a few focus areas of content; the largest being anime of all genres moving beyond the happy-go-lucky antics of the shonen mascots of anime, interviews with interesting people and getting to know more about the expertise that comes with being them, coverage of conventions that happen in and around our lovely continent, the hot topic gossip that comes with the gaming side of being an otaku and even some western media coverage.

CONTENTS

Part five (games and gaming) genwunners 30 final fantasy 31 gaming dlc 32

PART ONE (Conventions, cosplay and other gatherings) uct UCON 2014 6 con.ect sa 9 art of cosplay 10 Part two (Otaku and otaku lifestyles) News 12 Otaku movie nights 14 Anime in sa 15 part three (anime) anime battle arena kill la kill no game, no life summer season

part four (art, drawing and manga artists) south african manga artists 22 art gallery 24 muzi nkosi 26

16 18 20 21

part six (comics) gaurdians of the galaxy 34 superior spider-man 38 lantern corps 40 5

“UCON was founded in September 2013, it is the first anime and gaming convention in Cape Town hosted by a University of Cape Town society called Genshiken annually on UCT premises. The convention covers a variety of Otaku and Japanese culture including but not limited to anime, cosplay, gaming, martial arts and food. The event was founded by a small group of UCT students who found it necessary to provide a platform for growth of the former mentioned culture in Cape Town.

UCTUCON.COM

UCON 2014

Like the all-famous event held far beyond our reach on American shores known to every geek, nerd and otaku as ComicCon, there are many events like it spanning across the United States and even spanning across the ocean to the UK and other sporadic locations with its mirrored counter parts standing proud on eastern bound shores. As Africans we decided, “EVEN ME ALSO, I WANT AN CONVENTION YA!”.

Unlike the annual rAge Expo, which for the benefit of those of you that are unaware of the expo - ‘rAge is Africa’s premier consumer gaming and technology exhibition, held annually at the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg. Over the course of a single crazy weekend, tens of thousands of eager visitors gather within the Dome to soak up the latest and greatest in gadgets, video games and everything else that gets attendees’ hearts racing.’

With that very loud and proud, ethnocentrically coated statement we began a massive trek towards the day when we can have our own ComicCon SA sponsored by various media and companies that would profit from a mass gathering of us nerdy folk.

The rAge expo offers us the local equivalent of the internationally acclaimed E3 expo which is game and technology centered, which is perfect for console and PC gamers alike.

But like any multi-dimensional nerd can tell you. There’s more to us than gaming. The amalgamation of gaming, cosplay, comic books, anime and movie going is what really tickles our fancy.

A range of vendors display and sell Otaku related products and services which visitors are welcome to browse and purchase. Many of the vendors have give away prizes in raffles and other competitions. Some well-known console gaming companies have supported the event and will continue to do so, this includes but is not limited to Zombie Gamer, 2Up Gamers and Cape Town Showdown. These companies provide PlayStation and Xbox fans gaming tournaments across a variety of genres and offer amazing prizes to successful participants. Those tabletop gamers who enjoy classics such as Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh! And Magic are also catered for as they have their own gaming space that may be used for tournaments with the opportunity to win prizes. Those gamers who prefer the click of a mouse will find themselves comfortable overnight seating in our LAN area which is paid for separately to the entry fee.”

PART ONE (Conventions, cosplay and other gatherings)

All UCON Photos taken by : Charlemagne Olivier

2013 saw the first annual UCON event. Hosted and organised by the University of CapeTown’s anime society called Genshiken. Really the first of its kind in terms of turn-out and excitement. The events success spurred the rumors of Comic Con SA being a possibility, but that rumor was debunked in our previous issue, It did however manage to give birth to UCON 2104.

PART ONE (Conventions, cosplay and other gatherings)

8 “We try to cater for all Japanese and Otaku enthusiast in Cape Town and thus we host various workshops which range from sushi workshops, manga drawing, introduction to the Japanese language, basic martial arts and more. Our event thus aims to increase interest in the former mentioned as to progress the culture in Cape Town. For those who prefer being observers rather than participants we have a variety of on stage performances which may include live music, dances and martial art demonstrations. If you keen on dressing up or furthering your cosplay skill then our cosplay competition is perfect for you as it is packed with entertainment and prizes which follows the World Cosplay Summit guidelines which aims to prepare you for WCS prelims and of cause there is great prizes to be won. After the long list of things to keep you busy we understand that even Otaku’s need rest thus we have an excellent food court with some of your favorite dishes prepared to rejuvenate you throughout the day. Lastly we have a Maid Café made for those who are curious know what it would be like to be a master of a household.”

With all the hub-bub that happens in the western cape, more often than not the eastern cape community is left to only hear about the fireworks and glitter from events like UCON 2014 and KINCON - which leaves the EC people feeling left out and cut off from the festivities. In light of this, the simple but radical idea of hosting an eastern cape event on a much larger scale than the fairly regular cosplay picnics was born. Like KINCON, the eastern bound anime, gaming and cosplay convention was hosted and organised by a more than enthusiastic South African grown cosplayer going by the name Nakashi Oroshu. The self made artist, cosplayer and now event host had what little resources he had to being with and managed to create a fun and worthwhile event for all those in attendance. In an unfortunate plot twist of events UCON fell on the same weekend as the intimate gathering - and so those already bound to their UCON commitment made their way across the country leaving the cosplayers event behind. Being on a smaller scale in comparison and not having an entire oragnisation to market and advertise the event was one of its few drawbacks. In light of these dramatic events, CON.ECT was a spectacular collection of otaku, vendors, local cosplayers and the gamers who enjoyed the LAN event while they stayed. Get keen for the next CON.ECT!

Photographed by Simone Goddard

THE ART OF COSPLAY

For those of you that don’t know. Cosplay is where two ideas join together, and those are that of “Costume” and “Role play” Essentially you take a Character that you love - usually from Anime but it has also expanded in more recent years to encompass Western animation too – and you dress up as this character and try to portray a Real Life form of them as best you can.

a h c -

PHOTOGRAPHED BY Jaydon van Gent

Like all things geek that are rapidly growing in sheltered popularity in and around South Africa, the art of cosplying is always out and about. Cosplayers everywhere show their talent of costume design and role play with grace and passion. After all the UCON and Con.Ect commotion we got a chance to interview one fresh from excitement.

Otaku Bantu: Let’s start off small, how old are you? MoMo-Chan: I am 21 (06 April 1993) OB: How long have you been cosplaying? MM: I started cosplaying in April of 2013 at Cosplay Cape Town’s 5th picnic. OB: As a newish cosplayer what challenges did you face when you started? MM:My main problem was that no one in

-tells the story of how she failed her sewing class and that she’s proud of it. So I knew nothing when I bought my sewing machine. I didn’t even know that pins were meant to keep material together and thought that had to be done by hand or glue Mega-noob! OB: What advice to you have for people who are interested in cosplay but don’t know how to go about it? MM: Research everything! Never stop asking questions. I also feel that people NEED to research proper eye care because I’ve dealt with so many people who send chills down my spine when they tell me how little they know about eye-hygiene but that they want/have contact lenses. Many don’t even know what lense solution is! With my first pair I went straight to my optometrist to find out as much as I could. Please take care of your eyes! How else will you enjoy your cosplay? OB: Who has your best cosplay been? MM: My favorite cosplay of mine would definitely be Konata Izumi from the anime Lucky Star. She’s so much fun! And I have a bit of a sailor-fuku fetish. *guilty€€€€€* Konata Izumi from the anime series “Lucky Star” Photographer - Anime South Africa

PART ONE (Conventions, cosplay and other gatherings)

OB: Whats the relationship between cosplay and Cons like Ucon and Con.Ect? MM: Cosplay makes up quite a big part of the anime and gaming convention scene. Cosplayers generally want their work to be seen and people who have the same interests are the best audience to showcase it in front of. For the cosplayer it’s a chance to see old friends, be in a more familiar space, learn new things and of course have fun in costume. For the non-cosplayers it’s entertainment, it pulls a crowd, provides an opportunity to take a new approach to ones photography or drawing and of course fangirl/fanboy over this particular form of fan art (and who doesn’t love fan art of any kind? More fanfiction please!! Haha! ) Haruno Sakura from the anime series “Naruto Shippuuden” Photographer South African cosplayer Yamaki

News The fact that the magazine releases at the start of the next month for the previous month we bring you news from late in April and he-say-she-says from the beginning of May.

N O

Off the bat I would just like to say:

While on patrol through the internet to find something of interest I stumbled upon, or more like it jumped up and Booker T. kicked me in the face, the news of a Saber Rider Game in the works. Like a frighteningly awesome ghost from the average 90’s kids childhood the action adventures of Saber Rider (along with his kick-ass ROBOT HORSE) and the Star Sheriffs policed a futuristic space cowboy genred world. It will be an indie game, developed currently by a concerningly small team of small people - which is slowing down their work quite considerably. I smell this is one game that needs Kickstarters help. -Get the full interview at Anime News

As far as I’m concerned spinoffs are either received badly or delivered badly, so all in all am skeptical for any media that makes a splash and the creator or creators decided to try and expand and or gain profit from series in a similar setting based on someone else. My most impending fears coming from the poorly titled; How I Met Your Father...... And the Sinister Six movie set to come after the

Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie. Both of these show every bit as much potential to be as great a show and movie respectively but only when they arrive can we determine their worth with an objective view. That being said the news of a coming spin-off that inspired that mini-rant is of the spinoff of the manga and anime series Rurouni Kenshin.

! ! LD

O H

The June issue of Shueisha’s Jump Square magazine is reporting on Friday that Nobuhiro Watsuki will launch a new Rurouni Kenshin spinoff manga about the villain character Shishio Makoto. The tagline on the announcement reads: “The flag-raising of the evil that evil fell in love with is finally being revealed.” The allnew work titled Aku no Kioku (Record of Evil) will be penned by Watsuki to accompany the two live-action films that are slated to open on August 1 and September 13 in Japan. Shueisha will reveal more information about the new spinoff manga in Jump Square’s July issue. The June issue of Jump Square also revealed that Watsuki is putting his Embalming manga on hiatus. Watsuki plans to resume the series with the start of the final arc this fall.

Atlus announced on Sunday that it will hold a live stream session titled “Dark Hour TV ~Persona Hour~” on Niconico on May 2 in anticipation of the premiere of the second Persona 3 film, Persona 3 the Movie #2 Midsummer Knight’s Dream. The stream will not only feature “extravagant guests,” but will also have a “super important announcement of a new project.” The stream will also have a digest of the first film, Persona 3 The Movie #1 Spring of Birth. The second film in the Persona 3 film series will open on June 7 in Japanese theaters.

part two(otaku and otaku lifestyles)

Lastly, as you may or may not know. With all the different comic book movies having their rights split across Marvel studios, Fox and Sony they will not appear in the same movie anytime soon. Meaning no Avengers Vs Xmen crossover. However, a recent source has announed that in the post credits scene of up coming movie will hint at a future crossover and return of studio rights. Interested?

part two(otaku and otaku lifestyles)

Otaku movie night So how do you like to spend your Sunday nights? Cringing at the thought of tomorrow’s Monday blues? Salvaging whatever you can from the last of your last happy hours? Or just lazing about? Well, there’s a growing trend in the heart of Africa that’s bringing together an unconventional community: The African anime community.

In an effort to bring together the anime community of South Africa, Craig Scholtz began an project aimed at making more community based pages which differ greatly from the large scale international anime pages of which we know are scattered over Facebook. The idea was that the people who like the page get to know each other on a better level through common interest and eventually form some naruto-esque bond. Dattebayo.

From January, a young group of Zambians have been hosting one of the most interesting and retweetable events in the country: Otaku Movie Night. So what happens on Otaku Movie Night? Once a week, a themed Japanese animation is chosen and anyone interested in taking part, wherever they may be, watches the movie at a synchronized time on Sunday night while talking about it on twitter with the appropriate hash tag. The event was formed by quite a colorful bunch which includes college students, software developers, artists, entrepreneurs and popular Anime blogger and gamer - Dennis the Kidd. At the moment, participation is really extending out of the country and besides Zimbabwean and South African guests we’re beginning to see people across the oceans show interest in the night. See more at: http://bit.ly/1jcIdjp

What started out as a small page called Naruto in SA, has grown into a franchise of pages all under the careful command of Craig himself, to maintain the quality and civility of the original page.

The Girl Who Lept Through Time, Akira, Perfect Blue, Wolf Children, Ghost in the Shell and Spirited Away are just some of the few great titles that have been simulwatched over the pass couple of weekends.

In an interesting turn of events the “in SA“ brand became so popular and well known that fake in SA pages were made. How crazy is that? Currently the in SA franchise hosts more than 6 different otaku related pages including; One Piece, Bleach, Attack on Titan, Pokemon, Dragon Ball Z and even a general Mecha anime page. So there is definitely something for everyone interested. Most notably, in making his pages a success for the artists in South Africa, each of the pages holds a bimonthly fan art competition that ends on the Fridays of the set weeks within each competition month. The contest was rightfully dubbed; Fan Art Friday. Artist go head to head with their skill sets be it pencil or digital and the submitted work are judged by the number of likes they collect. Ultimately the prize was something relating to the page at hand more often than not an original manga book. The in SA movement is strong and still growing, go through to the Facebook pages and see what tickles your fancy.

Before stepping into the realm of cosplayers otaku who haven’t made the jump to either making an entire outfit or buying it can still get their geek on, we will do our best to highlight various equipment that might grab your interest from contact lenses to other symbolic items that can be kept as keychains and the like. This month, our own streetwear OB tshirts.

See yourself rocking one of our street wear tees? Order via e-mail, send us your shirt size, the shirt color and eye color for a custom feel. Otakubantu@live.co.za

part two(otaku and otaku lifestyles)

Anime battle arena ! One of the student council’s Elite Four. He is Satsuki Kiryūin’s loyal, massive enforcer who leads the disciplinary committee at Honnōji Academy, and, being a member of the Elite Four, has a Three-Star Goku Uniform, and refers to himself under the title of Satsuki’s “Impenetrable Shield”. Superhuman Strength - Even without a Goku Uniform, Ira possess an immense, almost absurd amount of physical strength, enough to overpower multiple Goku Uniform users without activating his own. Even when losing his uniform, he still had enough strength to grapple with a large COVERS monster barehanded. Ira’s Three-Star Goku Uniform transforms into a diabolical-looking mummy-like bondage suit which renders him invulnerable to external physical attacks while also boosting his strength and size relative to the amount of damage absorbed. The outer suit is actually made out of extremely tough cloth armor instead of Life Fibers, so attacks that seek to absorb Life Fibers are also ineffective. Although it is usually used to store energy for the Scourge Regalia, the Shackle Regalia has some offensive capability; its cloth strips can be separated into whips to strike at opponents, or simply tighten around Ira’s body to choke an opponent trapped in their grip.

ira gamagori kill la kill

Ira is always serious, bearing no tolerance for foolishness or rule-breaking, and often shouts at the top of his lungs whenever opposed in any way. He typically berates his much more casual colleagues and keeps the students in line for Satsuki, and is considered to be her right-hand man. As befits the head of the Disciplinary Committee, Ira seems to hold adherence to the law, his ideas of ethical behavior, the hierarchy of the academy and Satsuki above all else.

Major Alex Louis Armstrong, also known as the Strong Arm Alchemist, is a State Alchemist and officer in the Amestrian State Military. The scion of the illustrious Armstrong family, Alex is a remarkably caring commander and friend as well as an invaluably skilled ally to Colonel Roy Mustang and Edward Elric. Armstrong is also a highly formidable hand-tohand combatant, able to fight on equal grounds with such highly skilled and dangerous fighters as The Scarred Man and The Chimera Roa. Befitting his large and well-defined physique, Armstrong possesses tremendous strength and endurance bordering on superhuman, able to endure with only minor damage blunt force trauma that would render most people unconscious or crippled. His punches are able to easily plow through solid surfaces and his strength is able to nonchalantly move large and heavy objects out of the way. Despite his size, he has been noted to be deceptively fast and agile, able to dodge and maneuver against close-range attacks with surprising balance and efficiency. Armstrong’s combat style resembles boxing using strong and swift punches to overwhelm an opponent and agile dodges and swift footwork to evade attacks. IMajor Alex Armstrong utilizes a style of combat alchemy that has apparently been passed down the Armstrong line for generations and mixes alchemical skill with physical prowess. With the aid of two metal gauntlets strapped to his fists (both marked with transmutation circles), Armstrong transmutes objects mainly by punching them. It is possible that this method transfers the kinetic energy of his blows into the alchemical energy, enhancing the speed and force of his transmutations, since he mainly uses alchemy to rapidly produce large stone spikes, walls or other objects from

vote

alex louis armstrong

full metal alchemist:brotherhood 17

“A

fter only a mere five episodes Attack on Titan was dubbed the best anime of 2013 and rightfully so. It excelled in so many categories it basically et world records. Deep, dark, compelling and at most times frightening yet still managing to keep it air of youthful innocence - Attack on Titan set the bar high for anime fans everywhere. In the wake of the high impact and suspensive final episode of the season, anime watchers were left with a hunger for more action and a powerful plot. At the time no word for a second season of Attack on Titan was out... Another emerged which had fan girls screaming out and all their fangirl glory at the release of an anime known as Free! ...Its about speedo wearing teens swimming or something. All hope was lost. Until, Studio Trigger, the creators of the sublimely magnificent Teggen Toppa Guren Laggan answered our prayers and bestowed upon us the blessed gift of Kill La Kill.”

-Gigguk, paraphrased. Matoi Ryuuko has been journeying endlessly to avenge the death of her father. Ryuuko is armed with a single giant blood-red scissors blade, and she chases after the mysterious woman responsible for the killing, who just so happens to have stolen the other scissors blade. Upon arriving at Honnouji Academy, Ryuuko finds herself at odds with the oligarchical student council and their tyrannical president Kiryuuin Satsuki. Satsuki claims to know the identity of the mystery woman, but will not reveal it until Ryuuko has run a breakneck gauntlet of battling the superpowered student council body. Ryuuko decides that to get her answers, she will enrol into the school. The Academy is host to many secrets and hidden agendas. Will Ryuuko manage to sever the threads of fate trying to tie her down? Created by newly coined anime production house Studio Trigger’s, Kill la Kill is their 1st TV anime, though technically their second anime series and third homegrown title (coming after Inferno Cop and Little Witch Academia). The reunites the creative forces behind Gainax’s mecha ‘cirque du soleil’ Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, and believe me, it shows. The family resemblance is uncanny.

part three (anime)

Like its robot cousin, Kill la Kill revels in the absurd, be it in its plot, its characterization or its dialogue, this anime sets new groundwork for the term ‘over the top’. But for all of that, it does it magnificently. The visuals and music help drive the anime to a level of activity seen in few of its contemporaries, legitimising everything that it wants you to believe, and you end up attaching to everything going on almost immediately. The array of characters are all rather memorable in my opinion, and for the size of the cast I find that to be a big plus. The main characters AND the supporting characters stand together on near equal pegging in terms of impact and depth, so it’s not unusual to like characters who may not always be at the forefront of episodes, heroes or villains alike. You get pulled into the relationships of these characters (between the council members, between Ryuuko and her hosts outside the Academy, the Makanshoku family), and it makes it feel so complete, that even without the ABSOLUTELY BANANA-CRAZY AWESOME FIGHT SCENES, you get the impression that this would still be a stronglegged anime regardless. This is the anime many have lauded as having saved the medium. Even popular anime Youtube anime reviewer ‘gigguk’ paid notice of it’s effect on the masses, hailing it as somewhat of a messiah. I would recommend this show to anyone at any stage in their anime life, be it beginner or a hardened otaku. I beg you to give this title a shot. You will not be disappointed.

mac embers

Artist: POKImari (http://bit.ly/1ifJDKW)

VERDICT

8.7 19

At first I was like why haven’t these people learned from the mistakes of SAO, we don’t need another “Omg we are stuck in a game, we can die in the game, beat the game yay” story I’m honestly so over it. Then…I watched the TRAILER and I’m like whaaaaaaaaaaat? Although these stories are more often than not driven by shojo level emotion, the trailer gave a glimpse at the depth of emotion - not in a touchy feely kinda way, but a darker grittier range of tones. Which means the deaths and battles won’t be insignificant, the plot will be compelling and the characters inspiring.

part three (anime)

Made by the same people who brought us Black Lagoon, Card Captor Sakura and Campione! (aka God Killer). My final thoughts are that I am cautiously excited. Black Bullet Black Bullet takes place in a near future, where humans have been defeated by the viral parasites named Gastrea. They have been exiled into a small territory and live in despair, side by side with terror. Rentaro and his partner, Enju, fight thanks to their perculiar power until one day, when they receive a special assignment from the government. This top secret mission to prevent the destruction of Tokyo...

The premise is as follows; They are both NEETs and Hikikomoris… but on the internet, the genius gamer siblings Sora and Shiro are known as the undefeatable “__” (blank face). Sora and Shiro’s talents and skills are so abnormally good they are considered as urban legend. One day a young boy Teto appears before them, claiming to be “One’s Lord”.

Akuma no Riddle Akuma no Riddle is set at Myoujou Academy, a private girls’ boarding school. The 10th year’s Kurogumi class has 12 assassins with their sights set on one target, Haru Ichinose. Tokaku Azuma is a recent transfer student who is also targeting Ichinose, but she gradually develops feelings for her.

Teto summoned Sora and Shiro away from the real world called a “shitty game”, and into another dimension. Here, all violences are forbidden, and everything is decided by a game! Of the 16 different races residing in this world, “Humanity” is the weakest. After having the vast majority of their lands captured by the other races and being driven to the brink of extinction, Sora and Shiro challenge these one-of-a-kind battles of the intellectual powers in order to save Humanity! For the record a NEET is a young person who is “Not in Education, Employment, or Training”. The acronym NEET was first used in the United Kingdom but its use has spread to other countries including Japan and South Korea. And hikikomori are is a Japanese term to refer to the phenomenon of reclusive adolescents or adults who withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme degrees of isolation and confinement. The term hikikomori refers to both the sociological phenomenon in general as well as to people belonging to this societal group. Hikikomori have been described as recluses, loners, or “modern-day hermits.”

No game no life (NGNL) will have an original run from April 9, 2014 to June 24, 2014 meaning that we will have 12 episodes to look forward to. The anime itself is based off the light novels and the manga with the same title. So if you aren’t yet ready to part ways with Sora and Shiro after June. Go get yourself a huge helping of the original story.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusade

Fuun Ishin Dai Shogun

The third arc of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures follows Jotaro Kujo, grandson of Joseph Joestar, a he and his group of companions travel to Egypt to seek out and destroy Dio Brando, the immortal vampire, once and for all. Stardust Crusade marks the introduction of stands to the series.

Japan experienced an unprecedented crisis by Kurofune (Black Ship), the ships from foreign countries. But a giant robot called Onigami, which has exisited since ancient time, dispelled the Kurofune ships and the exclusion of foreigners was accomplished. The story begins in Japan where Meiji restoration didn’t happen. The tagline says, “I can be the greatest man in the world, because I am a virgin!!”.

South African manga artists Rolene Byleveld, Head founder of the Facebook page South African Manga Artists.

What made you start the group and how well has it grown? I started the group because I actually saw the talent Craig’s Fan Art Friday’s produced, and I wondered if there was any aspiring manga artist like myself. When I did an enquiry on another local page, the respond was surprisingly good! Armed with Bill as my co-admin, I created the group and within the span of one day there were already 50 members! Posting amazing art! That’s where I found the third of our admins, Zuneku, the guard dog/ boss brain behind all our weekly and monthly drawing themes. The group has grown tremendously, in its first year, we’re bragging with 285 members! I still remember the (first) day where we were more or less 50 members and had epic meme comment wars. Ah they grow up so fast… *goes off in a dream of Nostalgia* What do you expect from the members? I expect them to do what they do best, and have fun while doing it. Also take advice, learn from other members and, over the course of time, improve. But all that matters to me is that everyone has a place to post their work and get some credit for the epicness they create! We try to keep it a happy place, where we make friends and hopefully gain some contacts (wink wink)!

What besides the Facebook group do you have planned?

We’ve been talking about maybe making a Youtube channel, and asking members to make tutorials, showing their way of thinking and drawing and giving how to advice to others. That way we can reach the South African audience, but also getting advice internationally.

Do you think we’ll see Manga flourish in South Africa? The talent I’ve seen, they’re definitely going places. The talent I’ve seen, they’re definitely going places. Pako Mekute for instance, has been working on 3 different manga’s as far as I know and each one has a pretty damn awesome story line! So yes, manga is definitely going places in South Africa, and we have a long way to go, but I really hope we can get on the grid with America and even maybe one day… Japan! I really aim to let this group help our SA mangaka’s reach their dreams!

In Japan, people of all ages read manga. The medium includes works in a broad range of genres: action-adventure, romance, sports and games, historical drama, comedy, science fiction and fantasy, mystery, suspense, detective, horror, sexuality, and business/commerce, among others. Since the 1950s, manga has steadily become a major part of the Japanese publishing industry, representing a ¥406 billion market in Japan in 2007 (approximately $3.6 billion) and ¥420 billion ($5.5 billion) in 2009. Manga have also gained a significant worldwide audience. In Europe and the Middle East the market is worth $250 million. In 2008, in the U.S. and Canada, the manga market was valued at $175 million. The markets in France and the United States are about the same size. Manga stories are typically printed in black-and-white although some full-color manga exist. -Wikipedia

part four (art, drawing and manga artists)

Contributing Artworks by: Edward Alberts Wiehahn Mundey Leonard Ivan Wiehahn Pako Mekute Felicia Verschuur _________________________________________________ As a dedication to those manga artists who take their work to the next level and move towards creating stories through their art. Otaku Bantu Magazine, this month, is featuring Muzi Nkosiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Red Thunder Prince - as a teaser for when the manga series becomes available to print. South African made manga brings us one step closer to becoming part of the global anime community. Support artists like him in achieving his dreams.

Home grown manga artist Muzi jay nkosi Author of The red thunder prince Thanks for the opportunity... Well what got me into anime was no doubt DBZ, it blew my mind and soon after that I started researching the whole anime genre. What got me into manga was actually naruto, I first encountered Naruto as an Xbox game called “Rise of a Ninja”, it was insane, the story wasn’t that clear to me because I was young but I liked the complex fights a lot. A year later I saw a naruto manga at Exclusive Books, I immediately picked it up, I read it like 10 times... Soon I began to understand the story of it, it was so inspiring, teaching us the meaning of hard work, my favorite character was and still us Rock Lee, he’s pure effort in everything he did was just amazing... Rock Lee is what made sit down actually start drawing manga and the story is what inspired me to try and write very good and complex stories of my own. What actually got me serious about manga as a possible career was Bakuman, that series showed me the light, of course a few things there weren’t actually the real process, but even so I felt it portrayed the meaning of hard work and failure very well. Just when they thought they had something good, the editor would cut them down to size and made them start over again. I learned the art of repetition, that by doing your art over and over and constantly refining your stories then you can truly make it. But the key thing that I did miss was the most important and that was patience. I am impatient and competitive, I hate falling behind, so last year a new shonen jump for America started and I submitted my TRTP, they said I had the skills but I still lacked experience. That felt so unfair to me because I managed to outwork all the artist in their magazine, I managed to create 3 chapters in 2 months, I showed them that I was hard worker but nope I still got cut down to size. That was actually a good thing because at the time I was a very arrogant bastard, getting rejected helped me step down from my high horse and be neutral about things.

So now, the jump from simple drawing to paneling... Hmm, I think before actually jumping to drawing manga from illustrating it, is that you gotta have a huge visual library within your head, basically you’d need to have read a lot manga and understand how things work, because illustrating is very different... In illustration you can have a figure standing and then you done but in manga there’s gotta be so narrative going on, the figure has to be doing something, something interesting. If you plan on making the figure walk then know which camera is the best to show the figure walking, cause if it’s a boring angle then you got a boring manga, all movements gotta be cool and believable. So if people wanna start their own manga, I advice you start by telling a story through your illustrations, have the characters doing something, eating, dancing, fighting etc. Now writing a script is something I’ve never done and never will, my process is basically creating storyboards with dialogue in them, it forces me to think very hard things are going to go, a lot of people don’t take this step and they’ll soon find out it’ll slow down their process, because they’d spend hours on what to draw on the next page(break it down people). My manga ,” The Red Thunder Prince” is basically about this 17 year old boy named Tazuya, he was born a Red King and according to legend all Red Kings are nothing but bringers of destruction. He soon finds out about what he is through a terrible slaughter of his friends, he soon is given a second chance in life to clear his name and all become the first Red King to bring peace to the world.

part four (art, drawing and manga artists)

To read my manga you can either register on Inkblazers.com and search for the manga name or you can get your volume one hard copy soon, details will be posted everywhere of how you can get a copy. So on days I’m not being a mangaka I generally get my mind fixed into business related affairs, I love business, I’m always hustling for the next best thing and I have found it and it’ll be released in 2-3 months. The whole world will know about it trust me. I also like watching the news a lot, keeping up with the world is vital for me. Earlier this I went to the University called Open Window, after day 1 I dropped out because it felt too much like high school for me, everyone was too narrow minded and boring. So now I’m going to be in a new art varsity called DAS in Johannesburg, it has the skills I want to learn that OW didn’t.

C ONTBut basically if I’m not drawing then I’m doing something business related, I’m really ambitions and I want super success, this could backfire on me but I don’t care, I just gotta at least try. As to where do I see manga’s place in SA is, that without a doubt the population of manga fans here will grow, UCON has built some solid foundations and they have already appeared on eNews about them hosting the biggest Animecon in Africa next year. Now it’s up to us artist to produce quality artwork and animation. And for that to happen we need good people to go out and showcase their talents everywhere in Mzanzi, next year I plan on opening a gallery show showcasing the manga style to all, basically educate people too.

part four (art, drawing and manga artists)

The pokemon genwunners There will always be that big thing that is so deeply set in our childhoods that its impossible to forget or remove even by Godly force. There are few of them that are as universally known as the red capped, dashed cheeked adventures of a boy named Satoshi… Wait his name was Ash is America right. Lol.

Enjoy these games. That has created one of the biggest disputes among any long running game series, with Pokemon moving from the original gen one of colors, to the generation of metals, followed by the generation of crystals, back to colors (?) and most recently the x and y version that brought forth an all new horror for the gen one folk. . . . . Mega-evoAhem, yes that’s right the colorful, often dramatic but lution. Digimon fans everywhere are laughing so more so comedic adventures of Ash and his friends hard. . . in the Pokemon series. The animated adventure gave birth to a worldwide In the end pokemon was all about evocraze that lasted over a decade, lution and the battle after the last in the propagated form of battle, a never ending journey card games, tazos, apof discovery. We will never parel, and somewhat forget the founders of our most remembered the long Victory Roaded video games that gave dreams, but we will alfans the chance to ways see the birth of a dive into the action whole new plethora of and become pokeimagination. mon masters of their own. In days gone by before the deeply intricate and style designs of the modern day graphics that we are engrossed in today there was a time when black and white was all that was offered on the screen, only brought to life fully by the gamers imagination. Back when there weren’t seven hundred-and-onlyGod-knows-how-many-Pokemon-there-are-now, the original 150 or so were the most amazing collection of animal and ingenuity. Everything from an electric mouse to rock snake decorate the minds of the young and the young at heart. These original 150 inadvertently spawned a generation of Poke-fanatical gamers who would later be dubbed as “genwunners” (generation one-er [gen one-er]). For some known, but mostly unknown reason the Genwun faction detest with every micron of their souls every other iteration of the pokemon games, the pokemon that are numbered after 150, and the gamers that

Final Fantasy Seen as one of the older games spanning over 15 titles, and over 5 different consoles there’s definitely a reason the Final Fantasy games have been around for so long.

part five (games and gaming)

What started out as a last attempt to save a failing company ignited over a decade long blaze of magic, mystery, puzzles, long winded monologues and some of the most beautiful story telling in gaming history. This article is not an attempt to butter up those who already play the Final Fantasy games, but is an open suggestion to those who are more often than not turned away from it for two very big reasons. One, and this goes for the people who were persuaded into either buying the game or happened upon it from a friend and tried Art by Felicia-Anne Jocelyn Verschuur. their hand at the turn based battle systems. Final Fantasy unlike most games of recent creation had the turn based battle system, which essentially means that you and your opponents took turns to hit each other, which most found boring, mundane or outright stupid. The reason for this is that each character that you acquire, and trust me you get many, has a different and individualist skill set and works for better or for worse depending on how you strategise your battles. You will find you will have to fight a boss several times before you manage to put them down for good. The turn based system allows some breathing room for your thoughts to calculate the consequences of your actions. :O but by all means try fight a three headed dragon while button bashing and juggling four characters. And the second speed hump which stops people from even getting into the beauty and majesty of it all is the numbering of the game themselves. More often than not you will heat a fan declare than Final Fantasy VII was and is the best game there is in the series. The immediate worry for a spectator ab extra is that “Do I really have to play through six long and probably not as good games to get to the best?”, And the answer my dear reader is no. Only recently have the story lines begun to carry over from one game to the next because of how memorable they are. But the in terms of continuity there is none between the games, old mild suggestions and cameos from key characters that have no interrelational value. If you haven’t yet given the Final Fantasy series a shot, don’t hesitate now and join in on the some of the most impressive stories on the planet.

Gamers need to step up and shape the worlds that they want to live in.

Now the title might sound like the over generalised instructions for the PS2 game Dark Cloud, where you actually have to shape the world and time travel back and forth between two points and watch how your actions affect the future. But what it means is that the recent buzz over the inter-webs is that gamers as consumers must make known what they want in terms of the future of gaming. In September last year, American McGee made some pretty bold statements that rang loud and true, he started by saying that fewer games are being funded by producers. In that he meant with the dramatic spike in costs in the next level of gaming producers are going to be more reluctant to release titles that they feel are less profitable than others. Which makes perfect sense because at the end of the day the producers are in it for the money and they’d rather make another poorly matched up sequel that they know will bring in money than something new that might not even break even for them. For those of you that don’t know, American McGee is a forty-something year old game designer most notably known for his early 2000 release of American McGee’s Alice. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_McGee And like any great thinker, he didn’t just complain about what’s staring us in our overly unimpressed faces, he provided a solution that has been open to us the entire time. Crowd funding on a platform like Kick Starter would let the gamers meet half way with the producers of these indie games. Instead of shovelling incomplete games with big titles down our throat, the game industry should respect its life blood, the gamers. As fast as the change of battle system in Final Fantasy, we became accustomed to the industry’s money siphoning tactic of expansion packs and DLC (downloadable content). As much as we love to get a little bit extra from a game when we have finished, it would be nice to know that we are getting the full gaming experience before buying a new level, new weapons or ability. In a similar sense it spreads doubts over what else they can make pay-for-play like online time based investments. In the end the thought remains if they want us to pay more these games, why not make better games for us to play and not feel cheated by cheapening the experience.

part five (games and gaming)

While everyone is out there arguing and fueling the never ending console war. . . . I’m sitting at home waiting for the day that will never come. . . .

sega

Dreamcast

CINEMATIC UNIVERSE Guardians of the Galaxy is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is intended to be the tenth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is written and directed by James Gunn, with a story by Gunn and Nicole Perlman, and features an ensemble cast including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, and Benicio del Toro. In Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter Quill forms an uneasy alliance with a group of misfits who are on the run after stealing a coveted orb.

part six (comics)

Producer Kevin Feige first publicly mentioned Guardians of the Galaxy as a potential film in 2010, and Marvel Studios announced that the film was in active development at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2012. Gunn entered negotiations to write and direct the film that August. In February 2013, Pratt was hired to play Peter Quill / Star-Lord, and the supporting cast was filled out over the next several months. Filming began in July 2013 at Shepperton Studios, England with filming continuing in London before wrapping up in October 2013. The film is scheduled to be released on August 1, 2014, and will be released in 3D and IMAX 3D. In the far reaches of space, an American pilot named Peter Quill finds himself the object of a manhunt after stealing an orb coveted by the villainous Ronan. In order to evade Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a group of misfits including Gamora, Rocket, Drax the Destroyer, and Groot. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand – with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.

In March 2014, ABC aired a one-hour television special titled, Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe, which included a sneak peek of Guardians of The Galaxy. Starting in April 2014, a two-part prelude comic will be released, titled Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Prelude. Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, with art by Wellington Alves, the first issue will focus on the background of Nebula and the bond she has with Thanos, while the second issue will feature the adventures of Rocket and Groot before they join forces.

Peter Quill is born during an unusual astronomical phenomenon when many of the planets align. Seeing no resemblance, the man who believed he was Quill’s father accuses his wife Meredith of infidelity and attempts to kill the infant, but dies of a sudden heart attack. Quill is raised by his single mother until she is killed by an alien when he is eleven.Quill is placed in an orphanage but escapes and eventually becomes a trainee NASA astronaut. An alien entity called the Master of the Sun eventually visits the space station that Quill and other astronauts are inhabiting, and offers the mantle of Star-Lord (an interplanetary policeman) to a worthy candidate. Quill volunteers, but is rejected in favor of a colleague he once treated badly. Quill is outraged, and NASA orders his return to Earth and discharge for his conduct. Instead, he steals a scoutship, returns to the space station, and takes his colleague’s place. Quill becomes Star-Lord, with the Master of the Sun first creating an illusion in which the character is able to find and kill the aliens that murdered his mother to free him of his past. Equipped with a sentient vessel called “Ship”, Quill commences his role as Star-Lord.

Gamora is the last of her species, the Zen Whoberi, who were exterminated by the Badoon (in her original timeline, her species was exterminated by the Universal Church of Truth). Thanos found the child and decided to use her as a weapon. Gamora was While driving through a desert with his raised and trained by Thanos to assassinate wife and daughter, Arthur Douglas’ car is the Magus, an evil alternate version of Adam attacked by a spaceship piloted by Thanos, Warlock. Thanos showed her little kindwho thinks the humans have seen him. His ness during her childhood, but Gamora daughter, Heather, survives the crash and is was very loyal to the man who promised adopted by Thanos’ father, Mentor, and raised her the opportunity to avenge the death on Titan. She later becomes Moondragon. of her family. Gamora became very proficient in the martial arts, earning the nickNeeding a champion to combat the name “The deadliest woman in the whole threat from Thanos, Mentor and the Tigalaxy”. When she was a teenager, Thanos tan god Kronos capture Douglas’ spirtook her on a trip to Tartoonla # 7. Gamora it and place it in a powerful new body. disobeyed Thanos’s orders, and due to this He is rechristened “Drax the Destroyer,” came into conflict with a group of thugs. and his sole purpose is to kill Thanos. She was greatly outnumbered, and despite her skills she was defeated and then assaulted by the assailants. Thanos found her half Rocket Raccoon acts as the “Guardian of the dead, and in turn murdered all of her assailKeystone Quadrant”, an area of outer space ants and restored her to health, cybernetisealed off from the rest of the cosmos by cally enhancing her to superhuman levels. the so-called Galacian Wall. Rocket is captain of the starship Rack ‘n’ Ruin, and he and his first mate Wal Russ (a talking walrus) come from the planet Halfworld in the Keystone Quadrant, an abandoned colony for the mentally ill where the animal companions were genetically manipulated to grant them human level intelligence and bipedal body construction for many to become caretakers of the inmates. Rocket was Halfworld’s chief law officer (“ranger”) who protected the colony against various threats.

meet the guardians of the galaxy

Groot played a part in Annihilation: Conquest, at which time he may be the last remaining member of his race. Groot seemingly died buying his team some time to escape the battle. However, he survived as a sprig offshoot. In time, he regenerated his body from the twig, growing back to full size, and participated in an assault on the Babel Spire. When the original plan of laying explosives in the Spire failed, Groot was forced to sprout inside the Spire, growing to colossal size and filling a large portion of the building. Mantis was able to remix his sap in a way as to make it extremely flammable, and again Groot sacrificed his life for his friends, igniting himself, the resulting fire destroying the Babel Spire. A cutting of Groot was kept by Rocket Raccoon, though, and he was able to regrow. He then joined the new Guardians of the Galaxy (or as Groot would have it “Groot and Branches”), and began regrowing under the care of Mantis.

part six (comics)

Interested in the superior spider-man? here’s some reading to get your fill of the 31 issue epic tale of otto octavious’ journey through the eyes of peter parker to become a better... stronger... smarter... superior spiderman than ever before seen!

The Superior Spider-Man was an ongoing comic book series published by Marvel Comics that debuted in January 2013 as part of Marvel NOW!. The series was written by Dan Slott with artwork by Ryan Stegman, Humberto Ramos, and Giuseppe Camuncoli. It features a reformed Otto Octavius who has taken over Peter Parker’s body, and, having allowed Peter to die in Octavius’ body but being affected by Peter’s memories, is determined to be a better Spider-Man than Peter ever was, and a better man than Otto Octavius. The title replaced the long running series The Amazing Spider-Man, after the conclusion of the “Dying Wish” storyline, as the core Spider-Man book. The series ended with issue 31, which determined the fate of Otto Octavius’ mind, and will be followed up by the next volume of The Amazing Spider-Man, in which Peter Parker regained his body and the Spider-Man mantle.

Volume Tile Superior Spider-Man, Vol. 1: My Own Worst Enemy Superior Spider-Man, Vol. 2: A Troubled Mind Superior Spider-Man, Vol. 3: No Escape Superior Spider-Man Vol. 4: Necessary Evil Superior Spider-Man Vol. 5: The Superior Venom Superior Spider-Man Vol. 6: Goblin Nation

Issues Superior Spider-Man #1–5 June 2013 Superior Spider-Man #6–10 September 2013 Superior Spider-Man #11–16 December 2013 Superior Spider-Man #17–21 February 2014 Superior Spider-Man #22–26, Annual # 1April 2014 Superior Spider-Man #27–31, Annual #2 July 2014

part six (comics)

ISBN 978-0785167044 978-0785167051 978-0785184720 978-0785184737 978-0785187967 978-0785187974

Art by Kyle Graham

trivia

FOR MOST PEOPLE THE GREEN LANTERN PLAYS A SMALL PART AS A MEMBER OF THE JUSTICE OF AMERICA, AND FOR AN EVEN SMALLER PART IS KNOWN TO BE ONE OF THOUSANDS OF GREEN LANTERNS ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. BUT BEYOND THAT THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF LANTERNS, UNLIKE THE GREEN LANTERNS WHO USE WILL POWER. RED USE RAGE, VIOLET USE LOVE, BLUE USE HOPE, ORANGE USE GREED, YELLOW USE FEAR AND INDIGO USE COMPASION. EACH LANTERN’S STEMS FROM THE EMOTIONAL COLOUR SPECTRUM.